leadership

After witnessing and experiencing so many heartbreaking and unsuccesful organizational change initiatives over my 30 year career, I looked for a better way to transform and improve organizations. But how? 

To make it real, I interviewed leading change practitioners and other experts in a series I called 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success. I asked, “What is your best improvement strategy?”

Remarkably, I rarely got an answer about process improvement. People didn’t talk about Agile, CMMI, Lean, Six Sigma or the latest silver-bullet solution. Instead, they talked about something deeper: about trust, reflection, new questions, new leadership, understanding the status quo and much more. People shared fascinating and surprising new strategies and insights with me. 

After 50 interviews, I discontinued the 5 Minutes to Process Improvement series because it wasn’t about process improvement. Something else seemed to happen, and I needed time to reflect on it.

In fact, conducting those 50 interviews was so powerful that it triggered my own inner transformation. My mind became noticeably quieter. I became a better listener. I was less reactive to my circumstances. I also realized there was an enormous power in my intentions — and in the questions those intentions led me to ask. 

These inner changes allowed me to have a new conversation. As I became less judgmental, more open and a better listener, people seemed to feel freer and safer, and they shared deeper insights with me. 

I also knew how rare that was in the workplace. And I recognized that I and so many others felt like aliens at work. On the surface, we may have seemed happy, committed and motivated. But look a little deeper, and there was more unease and dissatisfaction than most of us will admit.

Because of the deep and pervasive need for transformation in most workplaces—along with the changes occurring within me and the kinds of insights people were now eager to share—I came up with a new series of interview questions. With that, the Exploring Forward-Thinking Workplaces interview series was underway, which led to my most recent book, The Future of the Workplace.

The Future of the Workplace was published by Apress in October, 2019 and is available at Amazon.

⏤

I’d like you to imagine having a conversation with someone you’ve known and worked with for many years that’s suddenly and dramatically different. Not only for you but for the other person too.

That moment happened to me eight years ago when I did my very first interview.

It was a magical moment because I heard this person speak in a powerful new voice saying things I never heard her say before. She expressed fresh new insights into the way we work and how we interact with each other.

I was awestruck. I realized that I had discovered something that would change everything for me. And it did.

I was so captivated by the conversation that I was compelled to do more and more of it, understand it, get better at it, and help others do it too.

That moment has now been repeated countless times in my world and will soon manifest itself in the form of a book.

In September, Apress will publish a collection of 30 of my conversations with global business and thought leaders. 

Apress and I will be working together to launch the book that will include a free book giveaway and access to exclusive content. 

If you’d like to participate, please sign up below:

Can you help me out? (it’ll just take a minute):

I allow this work to lead me forward, so it’s a constant challenge for me to keep up with it and make it understandable and actionable for myself and others.

I’m feeling now is the time for me to get in closer touch with you to help me make it more helpful to you.

I’d love to learn a little bit more about you and what you do. 

If you could reply to this post with just a sentence or two that tells me a little bit about who you are / what you do and what are one or two things that I could help you with over the next few weeks?

This will help me make sure the content I’m working on is entirely in line with what you’re expecting.

I’m connected to many of you on LinkedIn and Twitter but not everyone. If we aren’t connected, I’d like to invite you to connect with me. You can find links in my signature below.

I’d love to hear from you and hope you will take a few mintues to write me a sentence or two.

To your great work life & success!

Bill Fox

Co-founder

Strategies for 21st Century Growth

Web ⎜ LinkedIn ⎜ Twitter ⎜ Email